Author Kelly Smith of Sterling Heights compares job-seeking to finding her next car.

“For me, it’s a blast,” said Smith, author of “Corporate recruiter reveals who gets the job and why”. “I get a new car every three to five years and recommend people change up their jobs about as often. Employers recognize that such candidates have a diverse set of job skills, which expands their expertise and makes them all the more valuable and desirable.”

Smith will be sharing her insider knowledge of how to navigate the ever-competitive local and national job markets from 6-8 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Macomb Daily’s Macomb Regional Community Media Lab.

“I’d been doing this work for more than 20 years and kept hearing the same question: ‘Why didn’t I get the job?’” Smith said.

She knows why people fell through the cracks. But can not provide honest, open answers due to liability – the company she worked for could get sued.

At the same time, friends who knew what she did for a living were constantly asking for help with their resumes and interview preparation.

“It became very consuming,” Smith said. To help the growing job-seeking community, Smith began offering do-it-yourself presentations and her first book followed shortly thereafter: “The Recruiter’s Hiring Secrets to Getting a Job in the Healthcare Field”, through Excellent Enterprises, LLC.

In “Corporate recruiter reveals who gets the job and why”, Smith covers the do’s and don’ts of resume building, how to tailor your resume for the job you are interviewing for, where to post your resume and much more.

“I am the person who persuades the hiring manager to hire you and human resource managers to give you more money,” Smith said.

In other words, most job-seekers want to hear her feedback on their presentation.

One of the biggest mistakes candidates make, Smith said, is to lose hope and/or confidence after a bad interview experience.

“I’ve heard horror stories,” Smith said. “That’s a red flag telling you to move on. That’s not a place you want to work. You can’t let that bad experience define your job search.”

Interestingly, Smith said, the hottest job candidates right now are seasoned professionals, individuals in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

Her biggest pet peeve: the absence of contact information at the bottom of an email, or even at the end of a voice message.

It’s not that she can’t find it on her own. It’s just that it can become extremely inconvenient.

“Make it easy on us,” Smith explained: nobody wants or needs extra work on their plate and the candidate who doesn’t require it is infinitely more desirable.

Besides understanding the job market from an employer’s point of view, as a contract employee whose projects with corporations such as IBM, General Dynamics and T-Mobile, take her around the country for varying lengths of time, Smith knows what it’s like to look for – and find a job.

“This lifestyle isn’t for everybody,” Smith acknowledges. “But it works for me and I make more money doing it this way.”

“A corporate recruiter reveals who gets the job and why”, is available at Amazon.com.

About the Author

Maryanne Macleod covers local food, health and parenting, and is the community engagement editor for The Macomb Daily, the Daily Tribune, the Advisor and Source and The Voice News and is the director of the Macomb Regional Community Media Lab. Reach the author at maryanne.macleod@macombdaily.com
or follow Maryanne on Twitter: @MaryanneMacLeod.